Flip Scout Cookies
by Lime Jelly the Kitty Lord
Summary: Lulu needs someone to buy her cookies! Are the residents of Castle Bleck up for some tasty treats?


"Thank you, sir!"

Lulu grinned sunnily up at her customer, a kindhearted teal-skinned man. She'd just sold him a box of Choco Cutiecrepes. The man nodded and went back inside his house.

Lulu crawled into her mom's minivan. Several stacks of cookie boxes were piled in the back.

"Ready to go, kiddo?" her mother asked.

Lulu nodded eagerly. She looked at her sales sheet. Five more boxes to go until she could reach her goal!

"Mom," Lulu said. "We have to find one more person to buy cookies. And there's still all those other cookies back there."

Lulu's mom shook her head. "Sweetie, we'll just have to do it another day. It's getting dark, and there aren't any more houses for the next ten miles."

Indeed, it was getting dark—however, that wasn't exactly due to the time of day.

"Can we just look?" Lulu pleaded.

Her mother sighed. "Fine."

As they drove, the sky kept getting darker and darker. Strange purple clouds began forming, and soon there was nothing else in front of them except the road.

Lulu's mom looked uneasy. "Lulu, I'm getting a little scared. Let's turn around."

"WAIT!"

"What?"

Lulu pointed toward an enormous, midnight-black castle. Leading up to it was a long, narrow path lit by tall black torches. The whole thing was surrounded by the swirly purple clouds.

"I—I don't know, honey. That place looks awfully suspicious to me."

"But they look like they have a lot of money. Maybe they'll buy all of my cookies!" Lulu looked so hopeful that her mother couldn't say no.

"All right, then. But let me walk with you up to the front door."

Lulu shook her head. "No can do, Mom. According to the Flip Scout Guidelines, parents have to stay behind."

"Lulu—"

"I'll be fine, Mom!" And with that, the little girl skipped up the path, her bright green sash flapping in the wind.

When she finally arrived at the front door, she knocked on it three times. Her heart pounded as she stepped back and waited for an answer.

After what seemed like eons, the handle rattled, and a small woman opened the door. She had light blue skin, pink hair tied up in a bun, orange-rimmed glasses, and she wore a businesslike outfit. She looked like a very colorful secretary.

"Who are you?" the woman inquired.

Lulu smiled. "Hi! Would you like to buy some Flip Scout Cookies?"

"What the Underwhere are those?"

Lulu was slightly disappointed. But she regained her cheerfulness. "They come in several different flavors. Our most popular flavor right now is Caramel Paper Capers. We also have—"

"Hang on," the secretary said. She turned away and called inside the castle. "Count?"

At once, a man in a white top hat and a long cape swooped into view. He had dark blue skin, carried a bejeweled scepter, and had one bulging, glowing red eye. The other eye was covered with a glass monocle.

"What is it, Nastasia?" he asked in a raspy voice.

"This kid here is trying to sell us some kind of cookies."

"Cookies?" The Count turned to face Lulu. "Are you trying to poison us?"

"N-no, sir!" Lulu stammered. "I-I'm from Flip Scout Troop 14184, of Flipside. We're selling cookies to help raise funds for our camping trip!"

"What's this?" a voice sang from inside. A small man dressed as a jester floated beside the Count and Nastasia. His outfit was purple and yellow, and he wore a theatrical mask on his face.

"Dimentio, do you know what Flip Scout Cookies are?" the Count asked the jester.

"Unfortunately, I do not," Dimentio replied. "But they sound interesting. Tell me more, child," he said to Lulu.

At this point Lulu was terrified. These weird people were asking her all these questions. But she had to sell her cookies, even if it meant selling them to evil masterminds.

"Well, like I said, I'm from Flip Scout Troop 14184, of Flipside. We're selling these cookies to help raise money for our camping trip in Gloam Valley next summer. We're also trying to compete with the Flop Scouts." Lulu lowered her voice, as if there were some eavesdropping Flop Scout nearby. "Our cookies are much better than theirs."

"I can imagine," Nastasia remarked.

Two more people had appeared at the door during Lulu's spiel: a hulking, burly man with a scruffy beard and a lazy eye, and a preteen-looking girl with green skin and pigtails.

"Did somebody say 'cookies'?" the bearded man wondered.

"I did!"

The green girl gasped. "Hey! I remember Flip Scout Cookies!" She crouched down. "What flavors ya got?"

Lulu handed her the sales sheet. The rest of the "family" crowded around the green girl to look at it.

"'Ey! These don' look 'alf bad!" the big man said.

"I don't know about that, O'Chunks," Nastasia muttered. "I still don't trust this kid. What do you think, Count?"

"I agree with you, Nastasia."

"For the last time," Lulu cried, "I'm not trying to poison anybody!" She was on the verge of tears.

"Now, now, she's just a small girl," Dimentio told the others. "I'm sure she means no harm."

"Hmm," mumbled Nastasia.

"_Well,"_ drawled the Count, "You're right about that, but I'm still not sure if this is a scam…"

"It's not," Lulu said.

The green girl clasped her hands together. "Please, Count? Flip Scout Cookies are really yummy! Pretty please…with a cherry on top?"

The Count sighed. "All right, Mimi. Each of us can have one box."

"Yeah!" Mimi and O'Chunks cheered, jumping up and down.

Lulu, too, was excited. Five boxes! Now she'd meet her goal!"

"Nastasia, go get my checkbook."

In a flash, Nastasia disappeared and reappeared with the Count's checkbook. She asked everybody what flavor they wanted and recorded it on the sales sheet. The Count filled out a check and handed it to Lulu, who took it with the sales sheet.

"Okay!" Lulu said. "Let me go get your cookies from the car!"

As she hurried back, she saw the five strangers watching her closely; as if they were making sure she didn't run off with their money.

"Did they buy anything?" Lulu's mom asked.

"Mm-hmm!" Lulu called as she rummaged through the back of the van. Balancing the five boxes in her skinny arms, she hobbled back up the path.

"Aha!" the Count exclaimed when he saw Lulu and the cookies. Gently, he took them from her and handed each minion their box. Immediately, they broke into them and began eating.

"These are pretty good!" Nastasia announced.

"Mmmmf!" O'Chunks grunted as crumbs spilled onto his beard.

"Yummy, yummy, yummy!" Mimi giggled.

"They taste like the finest confections made by Grambi himself with each color of the rainbow and the most luscious sugar found deep in the heart of the Overthere's sun-kissed fields—"

"_We get it, Dimentio!" _the others snapped.

"I must say, you Flip Scouts make wonderful cookies!" the Count mused. "Please, do stop by again whenever you have the chance!"

"Thank you!" Lulu called as she headed toward the minivan. She was ever so grateful of her customers.

Her wonderful, weird customers.


End file.
